


Pull Me From the Tide

by kontraklarinette



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Flashbacks, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Love Confessions, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29437620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kontraklarinette/pseuds/kontraklarinette
Summary: “A holiday about love?” Amity breathed. She leaned back and smiled. “I bet you’re all about that. You’re the most romantic person I know.”Luz nearly choked. She wasn’t sure how to take that. Was it a compliment? Should she get her hopes up?No. Amity would never like you. You’re Luz, remember?“I’m actually not really a fan of it,” she admitted.Or, the three years Luz doesn’t like Valentine’s Day and the one year she loves it.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 7
Kudos: 225
Collections: Lumity Oneshot Faves





	Pull Me From the Tide

**Author's Note:**

> ignoring my wips in favor of venting through luz go brrrr

Luz was twelve when it started.

One sunny winter day, as she gazed out the windows of the cafetiera, she nearly trembled with excitement. 

Today was going to be the best day ever. Valentine’s Day at school was always awesome, but now that she was in middle school, it was bound to be even  _ awesomer.  _ She had twice as many classmates now and therefore twice as much opportunity to be delivered candy during lunch. Not that the candy really mattered- she thought most flavors of the Tootsie Pop candy grams were gross, anyway. But it was the sentiment that counted. She liked knowing that people were thinking about her. 

The candy gram delivery had been hyped up since the beginning of the semester a month ago. “Messages will be anonymous,” the Student Council had warned, “so it might turn out that you have a secret admirer!”

A secret admirer… Luz’s heart leapt at the thought. She’d always been a romantic at heart, and the idea of having a secret admirer made her swoon. How fun would it be to uncover a mystery like that? She and her admirer could be the best couple in the entire school… 

She propped her elbows up on the table and watched as the members of the sixth grade student council picked up their big boxes full of candy and started patrolling the cafeteria, reading the names on the notes and passing them out to their excited classmates. It quickly became very clear which classmates were the favorites of the student populace. The volleyball captain, who sat at the table next to Luz’s (the table that, with its pink plastic tablecloth, flower bouquet centerpiece, and heart-shaped balloons had a spread that rivaled a fancy restaurant), got five pieces of candy, and her cronies each got two. Luz waited in anticipation for hers. Maybe hers were just at the bottom of the box.

But the number of candy grams in the boxes slowly dwindled, until each student council member gave an apologetic shrug to the kids who were still waiting and returned to their own tables. It turns out that Luz hadn’t gotten a single one.

She glanced at the empty seats on either side of her. 

Maybe she should have expected it.

She wasn’t the only kid who hadn’t gotten any candy, but she  _ was  _ the only one who was still sitting alone.

Letting out a dejected sigh, she crossed her arms on the table and rested her chin on them. 

Maybe next year, she thought as she zoned out.

“Hey, Luz!”

It had hardly been a minute (or maybe a few- she wasn’t good with time) when a high-pitched voice jolted her out of her thoughts. “Hey there, you awake?”

“Oh!” Luz jerked her head up. Staring down at her with crossed arms was the volleyball captain she’d been watching a moment ago. The girl’s name escaped her, but Luz shifted around in her seat and blushed with embarrassment anyway. Whether she knew this girl or not, any student athlete was intimidating. “I- yes!”

“I just wanted to say-” the girl flipped her hair for emphasis- “that I can’t believe you’ve already eaten  _ all _ your candy. That was super fast. I haven’t even touched any of mine, and I got  _ six!” _

Luz frowned, confused. “I didn’t finish my candy,” she said. “I didn’t get any.”   
“Didn’t get any?” The girl smiled and paced around Luz’s table, circling like a shark. “What, do you not have any friends or something? Who doesn’t  _ get  _ any?”

“Me, I guess,” Luz mumbled. She was still pondering the girl’s motivations. How could the girl have not noticed that-

_ Oh. _

Duh.

The girl sighed. “I guess that’s why they call you Luz. Because you’re a  _ Luz- _ er.”

Luz wanted to snap at her for mispronouncing her name-  _ it’s not Looze, you meanie- _ but she bit her tongue.

“Too bad for you. Happy Valentine’s Day, Luz-er! Have fun  _ not  _ celebrating with all your  _ zero  _ friends!” The girl waved and made her way back to her own table. Her friends giggled as she approached.

Luz laid her head back down on the table, holding back tears.

Maybe she didn’t like Valentine’s Day after all.

~

Luz was thirteen when it continued. 

She gripped the note tightly in one hand, palms sweating, heart on the verge of a palpitation. There he was- just on the other side of the room. He hadn’t seen her yet- he was still deep in conversation with his friends, his clear blue eyes shining with excitement. She pictured his face when he saw her. Perhaps he’d light up. If he was half as happy to see her as she was to see him… 

She shook herself out of her thoughts. Living in her mind wouldn’t get her anywhere. Steadying her breath, she took the first step towards him, and then another, and another.

When he saw her, he didn’t light up.

He didn’t do much of anything, actually. He caught sight of her, blinked once, and resumed his conversation with his friends. She squashed her frustration (and maybe a little bit of fear.) He’d be excited when he heard what she had to say, right?

When she reached him, he still hadn’t looked away from his friends. She cleared her throat, and he broke off his conversation. “Hi,” he said, looking her up and down. “Uh…”

“Luz,” Luz said earnestly. “I’m Luz.”

“Oh, right. The otter girl. Uh… hi.” The boy shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He glanced back at his friends, but they just shrugged. He cleared his throat. “How are you?”

“Fine.” Luz’s mouth felt too dry to get another word out, so she held the note out to him stiffly. “I have something for you.” She beamed at him. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

The boy’s eyes went wide with surprise. “O-okay,” he stammered. He took it gingerly and unfolded it. The next two seconds felt like an eternity, and Luz suspected she might explode right then and there. Of course, she’d memorized the note’s contents days ago.

_ Hi! Surprise, you’re my crush! Be my Valentine? _

_ <3, Luz _

The boy’s hands shook as he placed the note into his pocket. “Thanks,” he said, but he raised the end of the word, making it sound more like a question. “That’s, uh. Very sweet.”

His friends, who had been peering over his shoulder as he read, snickered. “You gonna say yes?” one cackled. “You gonna go out with Otter Girl? You gonna be her Otter Boy? Otter Boy, Otter Boy!”

The other joined in, practically screeching with laughter. “Otter Boy, Otter Boy!”

Luz’s crush looked frantically between her and his friends. He seemed stuck. After a silence that seemed to stretch for eternity, he blinked apologetically at Luz before joining his friends. “Come on, guys,” he said. “You know I’d never go out with Otter Girl. Nobody would.”

His friends howled and clapped him repeatedly on the back. “Attaboy, attaboy!” they chanted. 

Feeling tears rise behind her eyelids again, Luz choked back a lump in her throat, spun, and dashed off.

~

Luz was fourteen when her back was finally broken.

“I’m home!” she yelled, pushing open the door to her house. She was greeted with silence. Not a single light was on, even though her mom had promised she’d be home at two so that they could spend Valentine’s afternoon together. She made her way into the kitchen and flicked the overhead light on. Maybe it was just too dark to see.

The house was deserted. 

Luz blinked.  _ No, no, not again. _ She pulled out her phone. A single notification was displayed on her screen. 

_ Mami _

_ Sorry, cariño, I can’t be home until late tonight. Work emergency. :( The pantry is stocked. We can have our Valentine’s dinner tomorrow night, okay? Te quiero, Mami xoxo _

“Come on.” Her voice was barely a whimper, and she winced. She went into the living room and plopped down on the couch- the same place she always sat when she told her mom about her school day.

Of  _ course _ today would be the day her mom would be kept late at work. The day that Luz had come to loathe. The day she felt alone and unlovable, now more than ever.

It wasn’t her mom’s fault that she couldn’t make it home, but it still stung. 

She opened Instagram and started to scroll through her feed in hopes of distracting herself. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t work. Her feed was filled with kids that were having much better luck today than she was- kids with friends, kids with girlfriends, or boyfriends, or moms  _ and  _ dads  _ and  _ siblings. Kids surrounded by love.  _ Look at me,  _ they seemed to be screaming.  _ I have the bare minimum social life and you’re still jealous! Ha, ha, Luzer, Otter Girl, Alone Forever! Have fun eating boxed mac’n’cheese and watching anime alone tonight! _

She knew it was petty. But it was so, so hard not to be hurt.

She thought it’d stay like this forever. But what she didn’t count on was a mint-haired witch walking into her life and changing everything forever.

~

Luz was fifteen when her heart was healed. 

“Thanks for hanging out with me,” she said as she slid the bookshelf closed behind her.

Amity shrugged, a faint dusting of red falling over her cheeks. “It’s no problem. I didn’t have any plans today.”

“Really?” She sat down in the bean bag next to Amity’s, leaning close enough to brush their knees together. “I would have figured a popular witch like you would have lots of plans on Valentine’s Day.”

“Valentine’s Day?” Amity blinked at her. “What’s that? Is that a human thing?”

“Ah, right. Boiling Isles.” Luz chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a human thing. It’s a holiday- February fourteenth- all about love. All kinds of love, love for your family or whatever, but most of the time it’s focused on romantic love.”

She’d known for a while that she had a crush on Amity. Ever since Grom, the feelings had been growing stronger and stronger, and she hated it- hated having a crush on one of her best friends, knowing that there was no way in all the universe Amity could like her back- but the way Amity was taking keen interest in what she was saying made her heart flutter.

“A holiday about love?” Amity breathed. She leaned back and smiled. “I bet you’re all about that. You’re the most romantic person I know.”

Luz nearly choked. She wasn’t sure how to take that. Was it a compliment? Should she get her hopes up?  _ No. Amity would never like you. You’re Luz, remember? _ “I’m actually not a fan of it,” she admitted. 

“Why not?”

“School was always really lonely for me, so I never had anyone to celebrate it with. I can see why other people would like it, though. It seems like it could be fun.” She didn’t want Amity to pity her, though, so she dropped it. She picked up the Azura book she’d laid at her feet. “So, what chapter do you want to talk about?”

Amity, though, seemed determined to press the issue. “What about your mom?”

“She had a really busy job. She was gone most of the time.” She told Amity the stories from middle school- about the volleyball captain, her old eighth grade crush, and Camila’s absence. 

“Wow. That sucks. I kinda wanna smother your classmates with an abomination.” The witch opened her mouth once, and then closed it, as if she had something else she wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to say it. 

“It’s not a big deal.”

Amity insisted, “Yes, it is! Nobody should be lonely on a holiday about love.”   
“I have you and Eda and Gus and Willow this year. It’s already better than usual.”

“But none of them even know it’s a holiday!” It might have been Luz’s imagination, but it seemed like Amity scooted a little closer to her as she spoke. 

An unexpected burst of courage made her reach out and take Amity’s hand. 

Amity stared down at shock at their intertwined fingers. “Oh, wow,” she whispered. “Human holidays.” Embarrassed, she flattened her ears and blushed, but nevertheless, she pressed closer until her head was resting on Luz’s shoulder. A faint purr rose in her throat.

“I feel a lot less alone now,” Luz joked. “Thanks, Ami.”

“Hmm. That’s good.” Nuzzling into Luz’s shoulder, she wrapped her other arm around the human’s middle. A beat passed before she spoke up again. “Is this how you do it? On the love day? Do you… do you do this?”

“I’d be up for doing this any day.” Luz clamped her jaws shut as soon as the words were out of her mouth. “Oh, no. Did I just flirt with you? Oh, no, did I just  _ admit  _ to flirting with you? Agh!” She wished her mouth would just stay closed all the time. It had an awful tendency to ruin things.

“Flirting?” Amity lifted her head abruptly. “Who said anything about flirting? I’m not flirting!”

“You’re not, I am! Oh my god. I need to stop. One of these days you’ll find out I like you.” Slapping her free hand over her mouth, she looked down at her companion, who was staring back at her with wide, round eyes.

“What?”

“I didn’t say anything.”   


“Did you say you liked me?”

“No. Definitely not. Not that I  _ don’t  _ like you. I do, it’s just- I’m ruining everything. I’m so sorry. I’m so creepy. Am I creepy? I’m sorry.”

Amity quirked an eyebrow. “Ruining everything?”

“Yes! I’m so sorry. Someone shut me up now. Wow.”

“Okay.” The barest hints of a smirk tugged at Amity’s mouth. “If you say so.” 

“Amity, I-” As promised, the sensation of Amity’s lips on hers quieted her. Electricity shot through every nerve, and she pulled back suddenly, knocking Amity’s head back. The witch yelped.    


“Stars, Luz, I’m sorry,” she gasped. “You’re not ruining everything, I’m ruining everything.”

Finally coming to terms with the present, Luz tried to protest. “Amity-”

“No, no.” Amity stood up, tucking her Azura book under her shoulder. “I should go. I shouldn’t have done that.” She spun and started toward the door. 

“Wait!”

She stopped in her tracks.

“Can we-” Luz swallowed. “Can we try that again?”

This time, instead of going red, Amity unexpectedly paled. “Huh?”

“I meant what I said.” Every syllable felt like trudging through quicksand. “I like you. As in,  _ I want to kiss you _ like you.”

“Oh-  _ oh.” _ Tentative, she made her way back to Luz. “Are you sure? That was pretty awful.”

“Practice makes perfect, right?”

“Practice-” Amity coughed. “Stars, Luz, you’re going to kill me.”

Luz rolled her eyes. “C’mere, silly.”

She didn’t believe this was real. She couldn’t believe that this was anything but a dream.

But the feeling of Amity draping herself across her lap and looping her arms around her neck seemed very, very real.

Their second kiss was better, much more practiced, and infinitely softer now that both girls at least had a faint idea of what was going on. As was their third, and their fourth, and when Luz finally pulled herself out of her joyous haze, she posed a question that had been nagging at her for a whole five minutes now.   


“Amity? Do you think they were wrong?”

“Hmm?” Amity seemed a bit light-headed herself, and it took her a moment to refocus on Luz. “Who?”

“My classmates. When they said I’d be alone forever.”

“You’re not alone now, are you?” she murmured. She tucked a short strand of hair behind Luz’s ear, pressing a kiss to her cheek as she did so. “Then they were wrong.”

“But do you like me? Like, for real? Nobody ever has before, and…”

“You dork. I’ve liked you since the day we’ve met. And I’ve wanted to kiss you for almost as long.”

“Then you have a funny way of showing it.”

“Maybe.” Amity giggled, and Luz’s heart melted at the sound. “Maybe it was weird. But I’m telling the truth now. If you ever need reassurance, I’m here. I wish you liked yourself as much as I like you. You’re one of the best parts of my life.”

“Soft,” she chirped. “Blight has gone soft, everyone. What a historical moment.”

“I’ll shut you up again,” Amity warned. 

“I might actually like that.”

She flicked her ears happily. “I hope this is a good Valentime’s Day for you. You deserve it.”

“Valen _ tine’s _ Day,” Luz corrected. “But close enough.”

“You’re impossible, human.”

“Yeah, but I’m your impossible human.”

“Fair enough.”

“Can I kiss you again?”

“You don’t even have to ask.”

And as the world melted away around them, Luz realized that she had a new favorite holiday.


End file.
